Time To Work It Out

The Bootcamp portion of Playground Sessions contains 25+ video lessons that are structured according to level of expertise and include four different areas: Keyboard Skills, Notation, Rhythm, and Playing by Ear. You can work through each area sequentially as you improve, or pick one specific skill and perfect that instead.

Bootcamp was designed as a collaborative effort between musician, teacher, and PhD candidate Alex Ness, and your instructor slash acclaimed pianist David Sides, with the consultation of Professor Byron Adams at the University of California.

Bootcamp

Every Artist Needs a Beginning

If you've never played piano before, you're in the right place. Our Rookie Bootcamp lessons take you through the basics of playing the piano, including basic notation, rhythm, hand coordination, and hearing melodies. All of these lessons use examples from pop music that you already know, so you can connect the theory with practice.

For additional practice, we've included a few extra sets of short musical pieces for you to practice. These sets each focus on one skill area, and simplify everything else for those times when you need just a bit more practice before you feel ready to learn a song.

Bootcamp: Beginner

TEETERING ON THE EDGE OF GREATNESS

The Intermediate Bootcamp lessons are where you can expand your skills and knowledge. Whether you have picked up skills from the Rookie Bootcamp or if you have already played some piano before, these lessons can help round out your musical abilities. Here we introduce chords - how to play them, read them, and hear them. We also introduce more complicated rhythms, more uses of major and minor scales, and more strategies for figuring out songs by ear. At the end of these lessons, you will be more than ready to start making your own arrangements, to play in a band or to accompany another musician.

Bootcamp: Intermediate

HEARING IS BELIEVING

Because David Sides learns all of his music by ear, and because playing by ear is an essential skill for any musician, we devote several Bootcamp lessons to learning how to play all parts of a song by ear. David takes you through how to separate the instruments in a recording with your ear, how to find the notes you hear on the piano, and how to hear chords and chord progressions.

Using the master recording of One Republic's Apologize, David breaks down for you how he does his covers by ear. It's a can't miss section!

Bootcamp: Ear Training

THANK YOU SIR, MAY I HAVE ANOTHER!

Rhythm is the heart of music, and possibly the most essential skill for any musician. In the Rhythm Bootcamp lessons, David walks you through counting and reading rhythmic notation including rhythmic symbols such as dots, ties, and triplets. In Playground, all of our Rookie lessons and arrangements minimize the amount of rhythmic symbols you'll see, so you can get a hang of counting and playing in time. But because David emphasizes counting out loud it will be easy for you to move right along to the Intermediate lessons once you've mastered these.

Bootcamp: Rhythm

TICKLE THE IVORIES UNTIL THEY CRY FOR MERCY

In this section of the Bootcamp, you'll learn the patterns and techniques you need to navigate the piano. This is where David teaches you how to recognize and play essential keyboard patterns, ranging from octaves and scales to triad inversions and voicings. It's also the place to get advice on the physical skills unique to playing the piano: how to sit, how and when to move your hands, and how to stay comfortable and relaxed while practicing. These lessons will help you to make sense of the piano's layout and to feel great whenever you sit down to play.

Bootcamp: Keyboard

WE PUT THE FUN IN FUNDAMENTALS

Reading music tends to be one of the things beginning musicians are most intimidated by. We make this process painless and fun by using examples from songs that you know and love. Playground Sessions has an easy-to-follow bird's- eye keyboard where you can match up what you're playing to what David is playing, all linked to the notation. Starting with a crash course of all the notes on the staff, continuing through accidentals and key signatures, this will teach you what you need to know to start reading any music you might find.

Bootcamp

Playground Sessions™ Software License Agreement

This Playground Sessions™ Software License Agreement (the Agreement) was last updated on October 12, 2011.

PLEASE READ THE AGREEMENT BELOW AND INDICATE YOUR ACCEPTANCE BY CLICKING ON THE “I ACCEPT” BUTTON AT THE END OF THE AGREEMENT. BY CLICKING ON THIS BUTTON AND INSTALLING AND USING THE PLAYGROUND SESSIONS™ SOFTWARE YOU ARE AGREEING TO BE BOUND BY ALL THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT.

Playground Sessions™ is a software solution owned by Playground Sessions, Inc. (“PSI”) that allows end-users to download, play and use interactive video lessons for the piano as well as specific song lessons from the PSI online music library (the “Software”). When used in this Agreement, the term “Software” includes the initially downloaded solution and any updates thereto as provided by PSI, as well as all interactive video lessons (the “Videos”) and song lessons made available through our online music library (the “Song Lessons”).

Additional Terms and Privacy

The terms of this Agreement are in addition to the terms and conditions regarding use of the PSI web site, located at www.playgroundsessions.com, which also constitute a binding agreement between you and PSI. A copy of PSI’s current terms and conditions can be found here. You should also read our privacy policy, which can be found here to understand how PSI collects and uses information about you.

Ownership and Restrictions on Use

PSI and its licensors shall retain all right title and interest in and to the Software, and all intellectual property rights therein, except for the copyright to the songs taught in the Song Lessons, which are owned by their respective copyright owners. The Software is protected by the copyright laws of the United States and other countries and by international treaty provisions, and contains trade secrets of PSI. Upon your payment of the fees described below, PSI grants you a limited, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, revocable right and license to download, use and display the Software on up to two (2) machines (for a maximum of two (2) users), solely in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement. Except as expressly stated herein, this Agreement does not grant you any intellectual property rights in the Software and all rights not expressly granted are reserved by PSI and its licensors.

You may not reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble or otherwise reduce the Software to human-perceivable form. You may not disable any functionality which limits the use of the Software. You may not modify, adapt, translate, copy, rent, sublicense, assign, loan, reseller or distribute the Software. You may not copy the Software onto a server which permits multiple machines to access the Software, nor may you allow third parties to access the Software via an internet-based hosted solution.

System Compatibility

The Software is intended to be used on most available computer configurations. While you are responsible for ensuring that you have your computer configured properly to use the Software, if you are having problems running the Software, please reach out to our support team at support@playgroundsessions.com

Fees and Payment

The license fee for the Software is $149, which includes the initial software solution download, access to all of the Videos, and up to three (3) Song Lessons of your choice from the PSI music library. Additional Song Lessons may be purchased from our music library located here for an additional fee. The current fee per Song Lesson is $6.00; however, PSI reserves the right to increase or decrease this fee at any time in its sole discretion. The fee for Song Lessons includes royalty payments to the copyright owners of the songs taught in the Song Lessons.

Payment of all fees shall be made online, either via direct credit card payment or via PayPal. If you pay via PayPal, charges will appear as “Playground Sessions” on your account.

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EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY PROVIDED HEREIN, THE SOFTWARE AND ANY RELATED CONTENT ACCESSIBLE THROUGH THE SOFTWARE ARE PROVIDED "AS-IS," AND TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, PSI DISCLAIMS ALL OTHER REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THIS SOFTWARE, AND ANY SUCH CONTENT, INCLUDING THEIR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, THEIR QUALITY, THEIR SECURITY, THEIR MERCHANTABILITY, OR THEIR NONINFRINGEMENT. PSI DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SOFTWARE OR ANY RELATED CONTENT IS FREE FROM BUGS, VIRUSES, ERRORS, OR OTHER PROGRAM LIMITATIONS. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

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Export Control Laws

You agree that the Software will not be shipped, transferred or exported into any country or used in any manner prohibited by the United States Export Administration Act or any other export laws, restrictions or regulations (collectively the “Export Laws”). In addition, if the Software is identified as an export controlled item under the Export Laws, you represent and warrant that you are not a citizen of, or located within, an embargoed or otherwise restricted nation (including without limitation Iran, Syria, Sudan, Cuba and North Korea) and that you are not otherwise prohibited under the Export Laws from receiving the Software. All rights to use the Software are granted on condition that such rights are forfeited if you fail to comply with the terms of this agreement.

Termination.

Should you fail to comply with the terms and conditions of this Agreement, PSI reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate the licenses granted to you herein, effective immediately. In the event of such a termination, you will not be entitled to a refund of any license fees or any fees paid for additional Song Lessons.

Miscellaneous

Entire Agreement. This Agreement, together with the PSI web site terms and conditions and privacy policy, contains the entire understanding and agreement of the parties with respect to the subject matter contained herein. This Agreement supersedes all prior oral or written understandings and agreements relating thereto except as expressly otherwise provided, and may not be altered, amended, modified or waived in whole or in part, except in writing, signed by duly authorized representatives of the parties.

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